HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-17-23 Public Comment - D. Poulin - Housing Affordability Dylon Poulin
Gallatin High School
Ms. Warn
4455 Annie St.
Bozeman MT, 59718
March 3, 2023
Bozeman City Commision
121 N. Rouse Avenue
Bozeman MT, 59715
Dear Bozeman City Commision,
I hope you guys are doing well, I'm sure you're aware of the housing problems and prices in
Bozeman. I am writing this letter to discuss those problems with you. As you already know there
is a huge shortage of housing and this causes a rapid increase in prices. Reasons for that are
rising populations and shortage of building materials.
This matters to Montanans because some people have lived here for many decades and the
prices are rapidly increasing because of housing shortage. This would lead more people into
becoming homeless. In 2010 the homelessness rate was 13.4%, and now it's 14.5%. Also
families with low to medium income are struggling because most of the budget goes towards
housing. Greg Gioanforte talked a little bit about housing in Bozeman and this is what he said,
"Housing prices are a critical issue for many montanas, particularly in rural areas where
affordable housing is scarce. We need to work together to find innovative solutions to this
problem."
I have proposed a solution: Increasing zone density. This would increase the density in different
zones and allow for multi-family dwellings. This would increase the townhouses in areas that are
just single family homes. Another solution would be to simplify building codes that can help
reduce the amount of time it takes to build a home and shorten the amount of time to get it
approved. Also we could just start building tiny homes for people just to provide housing for
them, this would be more affordable. There are several ways to save building materials when
constructing houses. First we could recycle materials, consider using reclaimed or recycled
materials for your construction project. This would include using recycled lumber, doors,
windows, and roofing materials. Second, choosing higher quality and more durable materials,
this would be a more expensive route but it would help reduce the amount of repairs and would
greatly benefit us in the future. All of these solutions would benefit greatly, and as you know we
need to fix the problem now or it will forever affect us.
Sincerely
Dylon Poulin Gallatin High School